THE Tembari Children's Care (TCC) Inc is a day care facility at ATS Oro Settlement, 7-Mile, outside of Port Moresby, PNG. To date, it takes care of more than 200 former street children - orphans, abandoned and the unfortunate - by serving them meals twice a day, and providing them early education. Assistance - food and money - is sent by supporters who find merit in the services we provide to these children. At The Center, they are family. For all of these, we need support that is sustainable.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

A chat with the deputy US Ambassador to PNG

By ALFREDO P HERNANDEZA Friend of Tembari Children

ON FRIDAY morning, I had a chance to meet Paul Berg, the deputy US ambassador to Papua New Guinea, at his office at the US Embassy in downtown Port Moresby.

It was an appointment his staff Stacey arranged a few days earlier. She told me Mr Berg wanted to see me in person and talk to me about something that interested him most. I did not want to miss this meeting

You see, Paul is a good friend of the wife of Parker Borg, a very good friend of mine.

Parker was my teacher in English and Literature in high school in 1960-62. He was then a young American Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) sent by the Kennedy administration to the Philippines. I

In fact, he was among the very first PCVs the US government deployed all over the world as part of the government’s outreach program to under-developed countries – and that included the Philippines.

Parker descended on our small fishing-and-mining community called Jose Panganiban, in Camarines Norte in the Bicol region, Philippines, and settled there for two years.

I was one of his favorites. He edited-mangled the very first poem I had ever written for the school newspaper. Because of that, I decided to become a journalist although I earned my degree in accountancy.

Anyway, Parker went on to become a diplomat and later became the US Ambassador to Mali, then to Iceland. He was supposed to be assigned next to Myanmar (then Burma) but the US Congress blocked his ambassadorial posting because of the country’s human rights sins.

Himself an educator, Parker was appointed Diplomat in Residence for the American University in Rome (AUR) from 2005 to 2008, and then to Paris, at the American University in Paris (AUP) until now. During the 60s, he was on a diplomatic mission to Malaysia and Vietnam where he learned the language of both countries.

After we communicated briefly in the middle 80s, I lost him, but got connected with him again about two years ago. Then we drifted apart again but resumed exchanging email again just a few months ago.

Learning of my involvement with the Tembari Children, Parker immediately called Paul Berg from Paris and told him about my connection to him (Parker).

Parker also told Paul about my activities with the Tembari children, aside from being a journalist based in Port Moresby.

Meeting me on Friday morning, Paul told me that he has read all my blog postings at www.tembari.blogspot.com and was amazed by the passion that I have for the children’s welfare.

Now, he wanted to hear first hand my Tembari story.

I told him.

Soft-spoken as he is, Paul told me frankly that the US government resources for such programs like the ones the Tembari Children Care center is involved with are “disappointingly small”.

But anyway, he would enjoy talking with me about my Tembari project.

Paul said there might not be much the US Embassy could do, but he may be able to offer some ideas about local groups or NGOs operating in PNG.

In his recent email to me, Parker said: “I will continue to reflect on other possible sources of assistance, but Paul will probably have more interesting ideas than I might.”

For me, Paul’s having interest in what I do for the Tembari children is more than enough.

Here’s a guy who would be in the country for a limited time only and would move on according to the wishes of his government but found the Tembari children his new personal focus which could last even after his time in the country is up.

I have always marveled why it has to be a non-Papua New Guinean that should feel the concern for the unfortunate children like the Tembari kids and not the ones from their own people, race and blood.

Reflecting on it more deeply, I realized the reasons are varied, and most of them tainted with aversion to share and to be of help to the needy.

THE BLOGGER

ALFREDO P HERNANDEZ, A Friend of Tembari Children. Blogger APH came to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, in 1993 to join The National newspaper as one of its pioneering journalists. Working as Executive Sub Editor, he has remained with the daily, now the country’s No. 1 newspaper, up to these days. He has been a journalist since his university days in Manila back in the late 60s. APH’s involvement with the Tembari children began in January 2010 after he discovered them at a Christmas party for the city’s 500 unfortunate children held at the Botanical Garden in Port Moresby. That day, he was chasing a story for The National, which happened to be that of the unfortunate children in the city. His self-appointed job for Tembari children composed of orphaned, abandoned, neglected and unfortunate children is to look for people and groups who could provide them food, money, health services and facilities necessary to create positive changes in their lives. This job is difficult, but what the heck …!

(Our sponsored Saturday lunch for the 200 Tembari kids costs only K250.00 per sponsor (we usually have two), which covers a special meat (fish or chicken) dish, veggies, steamed rice and cordial drink. The Saturday lunch needs at least two sponsors. Some had given more, allowing us to give the kids a generous heap of the day’s lunch. A rare bonus to the sponsors, along with the bricks they earn each time, is that I personally cook the dish, giving it a personal touch. And as they earn a brick, each of our benefactors also earn a passage into the heart of the Tembari kids, which is also a prepaid ticket to Heaven.)